Lyta tests the limits of the Shadows’ newly-discovered weakness. Dr. Franklin goes on a journey to discover his place in life, and meets a singer in Downbelow. The new Ambassador Kosh arrives on the station.
####Overview

####Guest Stars

Erica Gimpel as Cailyn. Jennifer Balgobin as Dr. Hobbs. Patricia Tallman as Lyta Alexander. Robin Sachs as Na’Kal.
####Lurk

http://www.midwinter.com/lurk/synop/062.html
####Backplot

Lyta has previously carried “pieces” of Kosh with her. This is most likely what she was doing at the end of [[Passing Through Gethsemane]].

At least ten Narn ships have survived the battle with the Centauri, damaged but able to be repaired. A new Narn fleet seems to be gathering.

It takes the White Star 20 minutes to recharge its jump engines after they’ve been taken offline and their energy diverted into the weapons systems.

The Vorlons are a long-lived race, are relatively few in number, and death is a rarity among them. It had been a very long time since a Vorlon had died.

Franklin is a Foundationist. The Foundation apparently borrows customs and beliefs from various cultures, perhaps in the belief that no one people has all the right spiritual answers.
####Unanswered Questions

What was the message the Vorlon ship showed to Sheridan?

Lyta, a P5, could barely hold one Shadow ship at bay. How much telepathic energy is required to defeat a Shadow ship? What effect would a high-rated telepath like Bester have on a Shadow vessel?

Is Lyta still “only” a P5, or has she been enhanced by her relationship with Kosh?

Why does the new Vorlon insist on being called Kosh in public and private? What does he mean by his statement that “We are all Kosh?” (see Analysis)

Where did the pattern in Kosh’s quarters come from, and what does it mean? (see Analysis)

Why did Lyta bleed from her eyes during the battle? Was it just the strain, or is there some deeper explanation?

Why didn’t the forces of Light take the destroyed Shadow craft in tow for analysis?

Why didn’t the Minbari cruiser open fire on the “held” shadows?

Lyta required ‘line of sight’ to the Shadow ship in order to attack it. Did the Minbari telepaths also need to see the Shadows in order to attack them?

How did the Vorlon ship know where to find Sheridan?

Does the “piece” of Kosh that may be left behind in Sheridan have anything to do with Sheridan’s place as “The One?” How might it fit in with Kosh’s statement that if Sheridan goes to Z’ha’dum, he will die? It may explain Kosh’s final words to Sheridan: “As long as you’re here, I’ll always be here.”

Do the Shadows know a piece of Kosh survived?

Does the different style and color of the new Vorlon ambassador’s encounter suit denote anything?

Is this the same Vorlon who was on Minbar in “War Without End”

How did G’Kar manage to persuade the other races to come to Sheridan’s aid in his battle against the Shadows?
####Analysis

The strange pattern which the new Vorlon sees on the screen in Kosh’s quarters could be a representation of Kosh’s death. It could be construed as a diagram of two or more Shadows attacking a Vorlon. It could also be construed as a diagram of Shadows being accompanied by a human. Presumably the human would be Morden, and the images were burned into the wall in some form, silhouettes, when Kosh was killed.

It’s clear that Lyta believes, based on her vision, that Sheridan may hold part of Kosh within him. What that means — for Sheridan, for Lyta, and for Kosh — remains to be seen.

How did the piece of Kosh get into Sheridan’s mind? If it was the result of Kosh’s contact with Sheridan, might G’Kar also have a piece of Kosh following their contact in [[Dust to Dust]]?

More disturbingly, might Morden also have a piece of Kosh, present as he was at Kosh’s death? Perhaps that was why the Shadows brought Morden along; they wanted someone there who could carry part of a Vorlon.

In [[All Alone in the Night]], Kosh tells Sheridan, “I have always been here.” Could he perhaps have been referring to Sheridan’s mind, implying that Sheridan has carried a piece of Kosh for quite some time?

Might the statement that “We are all Kosh” suggest that the Vorlons exist more as a collective whole than as individual entities? (See also JMS speaks.)

The tide may be turning, now that it’s clear that telepaths are effective weapons against the Shadows, especially considering that all major races except the Narn have telepaths. (Which begs the question: what will the Shadows’ response be?)

Telepathic control over Shadow ships is tenuous at best, and may be limited to preventing them from attacking; the three ships being held by the Minbari telepaths were free to flee the scene when G’Kar and the others arrived.

In [[Revelations]], G’Kar told Na’Toth that when Narn warships jump into normal space, they’re briefly out of contact because of the energy drain of the jump engines. Yet the G’Tok was able to fire on the Shadow warship before it even left the vortex. Does that mean that the weapons systems take less energy than establishing faster-than-light communications? Perhaps Narn FTL communication involves the use of the jump engines to beam a signal into hyperspace, and the effect in [[Revelations]] was simply a matter of the jump engines needing to recharge from the ship’s main power source.

The Shadows now probably know that the White Star is capable of solo jumps. It seems Sheridan has decided that keeping that capability a secret is no longer of strategic importance ([[Matters of Honor]].) Or perhaps he figures that the secret is out by now anyway, perhaps as of Delenn’s emergence from a jump point in the White Star in close proximity to Babylon 5, and thus presumably in full view of a large number of people ([[Severed Dreams]].)

The new Kosh’s ship is reddish in color, as is his encounter suit’s eyepiece, perhaps suggesting the link between Vorlons and their ships. Every sentient race, according to G’Kar, has food resembling Swedish meatballs. The Narn call it “breen.” Since the Vorlons have manipulated all the younger races, perhaps Swedish meatballs are really a Vorlon delicacy, part of an intricate plan to defeat the Shadows through culinary unity.
####Notes

In Australian aboriginal cultures, a [[walkabout]] is a ritual in which a young man goes on a solitary journey through the wilderness in an attempt to learn more about his own character and strength.

Metazine, the painkiller Cailyn used, was also used on Sinclair to keep him unconscious in [[And the Sky Full of Stars]].

In the initial UK broadcast, as well as the first-run US broadcast, Patricia Tallman’s first name was misspelled “Patrica” in the opening credits.

JMS wrote both songs in this episode. See jms speaks.

When the ship bearing the new ambassador arrives, Sheridan originally says, “Welcome to Babylon 5.” This line was edited out later.